


The Nature of Love

by Bus_Kids_Burgade (Inthemorninglight)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fitz's POV, NOT a love triangle, POV Second Person, Post-maveth jemma, everyone just loves each other okay, not angst, not romantic angst anyway, one-sided fitzsimmons, powerful friendships, skimmons - Freeform, weird little character exploration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 04:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8273585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inthemorninglight/pseuds/Bus_Kids_Burgade
Summary: You have not always been in love with Jemma Simmons and you can learn how to not be in love with her again. Because at the end of it all, she needs you and you need her and you can figure out a way to make that work....The progression of Fitz's feelings for Jemma, the surprisingly gentle realization she's in love with Daisy, and the decision that inspires. Fitz's pov on Skimmons.





	

**Author's Note:**

> As in the summary, this is Fitz's point of view on Skimmons. I'm not entirely sure where this came from, but it probably had something to do with my desire to see some really positive friendzoning experiences. More focused on Fitz's progression of feelings and his friendship with Jemma than on Skimmons.

You always knew you loved her, even before you knew you were _in love_ with her, and you thought, after you watched her tumble into the sky and absorb the impact of a grenade and lie motionless at the bottom of the ocean that you understood the horror of losing her.

 

But you were wrong. You were so wrong.

 

When she’s gone for real (not forever, you will make sure it is not forever if it kills you), it is not like that moment of plunging horror, that blind, keening fear of pain and loss. It is not about your feelings at all. It’s her, it’s just her, the weight of her absence and the space where she should be and the words she should be saying and the difference she should be making.

 

And you understand now that she is not perfect. You understand - or rather, you remember - that she is flawed, and you forgive her. You pour your forgiveness into that void as if it can take back all the jibes and angry words and inability to understand that have collected between you like an ocean, drop by drop. Because in the process of being _in love_ with her, you forgot how, simply, to love her.

 

But you remember now, you remember. And it doesn’t matter what she wants to be to you, if it’s your friend or your lab partner or merely a person from your past, you don’t care, you just need her in this world.

 

When she’s back, when she’s here in your arms, you make sure to tell her this. You make sure she understands that your affection is not conditional, that you are not here because you expect more. You are her friend. First and foremost you are her best friend, and you’ll be happy if that’s all you ever get to be. So please, you say, please, let me help you. I just want you to be happy.

 

And you can tell by the way she curls into you at night, reaches for your hand to ground herself, says your name like it is a remedy that she needs you. That she loves you, too. And whatever kind of love it is, you tell yourself it will be enough, but that shiver of hope is still there, barely daring to be believed.

 

You are her anchor, but you are not her buoy. Try as you might, you do not know the words to crack her smile to bring forth her light.

 

Somehow, though, Daisy does. When she hides under her bed, Daisy knows somehow to just crawl in beside her and be quiet. When she will not talk, Daisy has the right words to fill the silence.

 

The first time you hear ‘Fight Song’ pouring out of Daisy’s bunk and see them both dancing wildly and terribly, when you hear her screaming the lyrics, it actually makes you cry. You stand in the hallway, watching slivers of them through the half-open door and you are so _happy_ to hear her voice. You think maybe you should be jealous or disappointed or confused that after spending night and day at her side for so long, it’s not you bringing her back to life, but because you love her more than you are _in love_ with her, you care only about the smile and not the source.

 

Daisy is good for her. She has music and big sweaters and easy conversation. But you are also good for her. It is you she crawls into bed with. It is you she holds onto. And once, even, you kiss. And you would like to believe that means something, but deep down you know. Deep down, you can see.

 

And when it is over, when you’ve gone to that planet and come back, when you have heard her screams and it’s far worse than her absence, she throws her arms around you first. She holds you tight, tight, and you _know_ she loves you.

 

And when she turns, catches Daisy’s eye, falls into her arms, _that_ is something else. In Daisy’s arms she falls apart, and Daisy holds her together. Daisy kisses softly at her tears and murmurs healing words, and you know they are _in love_.

 

And you find, beneath the sting of disappointment, that this is okay. This is nothing new. You’ve known, really, for a while. And you’ve also known that she needs you, and maybe this is why she’s waited so long to fall into Daisy’s arms. Because, just as your greatest fear is losing her, her greatest fear is losing you. You felt it in her ironclad grip and saw it in the heartbreak on her face before you jumped into Hell for her. She’s in love with Daisy but she still needs you.

  
And you’re going to be there. Maybe it’ll hurt and maybe it’ll suck at first, but you haven’t always been in love with Jemma Simmons and you can learn how to not be in love with her again. Because the bottom line is that you _love_ her. You love them both. And they both love you. And that is more, more than enough.


End file.
